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The 20 million kina TRA2 project is the second major programme of support provided to PNG in the area of Trade, with Phase 1 (TRA1) of the project implemented during the period 2009 to 2011. Implemented through a Financing Agreement between the EU and the Government, signed in 2014 (see photograph above), and in line with the PNG Development Strategic Plan 2010-2030, the programme’s purpose is to increase PNG capacities to benefit from international trade, thus leading to PNG sustainable and inclusive economic development, and ultimately contributing to poverty alleviation.

Building on TRA1, the TRA2 programme also seeks to promote more effective engagement with the private sector for sustainable development and will be instrumental in helping PNG reap the benefits of the PNG-EU trade agreement, i.e. the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)

Latest News

The EU-funded Trade Related Assistance Programme (EU-TRA2) is providing the Government of Papua New Guinea with Technical Assistance to develop critical Electronic Transactions legislation. The TRA2 project, being implemented by the Trade Division of the Department of Commerce and Industry, has engaged international trade lawyer, Ms Irina Kireeva to spend almost two months working with government and all relevant stakeholders […]

On 29th March 2018 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Port Moresby, the European Union will be delivering the Final Symposium on the Trade Related Assistance Project – Phase 2 (TRA 2). The four-year project commenced in December 2014 and has been implemented by the Trade Division of the Department of Commerce and Industry. The overall objective of the programme is to contribute, […]

The Trade Division of the Department of Trade, Commerce and Industry has now a Trade Information Centre (TIC), which will in future house the country’s largest resource of trade data. From books to journals, research papers, handbooks, training materials, web links and reports; the new initiative aims to aid the day to day function and work programmes of trade officers by making resource […]

With the successful completion of a one-week long training for its lead assessors, Papua New Guinea Laboratory Accreditation Scheme has reached a milestone to regain recognition by the international community on laboratory accreditation (ILAC). PNG Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (PNGLAS) is a structure that delivers accreditation certificates to testing laboratories nationally. This function is crucial to ascertain that test or measuring […]

The EU through the Trade Related Assistance Programme Phase 2, implemented by the Department of Trade, Commerce and Industry is supporting 2 workshops enhancing awareness in the correct legal valuation of imported goods. The workshops will be conducted in Lae from 22 to 24 January 2018. PNG is a signatory and Member of the World Trade Organisation, which, as a […]

Interim Economic Partnership Agreement

Papua New Guinea is the first country in the Pacific to have ratified and implemented a trade agreement with the European Union. This agreement was signed in 2009. It is called “interim” Economic Partnership Agreement (iEPA).
It grants PNG full free access for all products made in PNG to the European Union market with its 500 million consumers. Papua New Guinea has put the agreement to good use by boosting its exports of fishery products. In the fish processing sector alone it is estimated that 50,000 jobs have been created and are being sustained, thanks to the Trade Agreement.